Tess McEnroe | Kalamazoo GazetteLexy Demey, 11, a fifth-grader from Cummings Elementary School in Grandville, rides the new Space Ball attraction Monday at the Air Zoo.

PORTAGE -- Inside the main hanger of the Air Zoo, Noah Ferguson ran up to his mother, Beth Ferguson, and tugged on her arm.

"I got to check this out mom," he said, before turning around and disappearing into the cavernous room of airplanes, flight simulators and rides.

Noah, 9, is a war-plane enthusiast, his mother said, and he made sure the Boyne City family stopped at the Air Zoo while on vacation in Kalamazoo. The family planned to pay the admission fees, but instead walked in for free on Monday.

The Fergusons -- including dad -- were one of the first families to take advantage of free admission to the Air Zoo, which will continue through Sept. 30. The museum is waiving the admission fees of $15.50 for children age 5 to 15 and $19.50 for an adult. Children under age 5 have always been admitted free.

Air Zoo Executive Director Robert Ellis announced the promotion Monday in recognition of the c being open to the public. This year also marks the fifth anniversary of the opening of the museum's main campus, 6151 Portage Road.

Museum officials hope the discount will increase attendance during the summer, give families a break on admission costs in a sour economy, and boost visitors and museum memberships after September.

In 2008, 65,000 people paid admission to the museum, generating about $1.2 million of the museum's $4 million annual budget. Overall, about 120,000 people visited the museum last year.

The museum had 1,800 paid memberships in 2008. Annual memberships cost $125 for a family and $50 for an individual.

The museum had expected to make $700,000 from admission sales this summer, the museum's busiest time. To help offset the loss of revenue, Ellis is hoping there will be an increase in ticket sales for the museum's seven rides, each costing $2 to $4, as well as a boost in sales at the museum's restaurant and gift shop.

Ellis could not say how many new memberships need to be sold or visitors pass through the doors to make the summer a success.

"There are no studies that predict what this celebration will do for the Air Zoo," he said.
Jeanie Ackerman, of Olivet, took two friends from Iowa to the Air Zoo on Monday. She was concerned about the admission fees, but after viewing the exhibits, she said she wouldn't hesitate to tell others the museum offerings are worth the price of admission.
"I'd either bring them or send them," she said.